Yami
by An Opaque Facade
Summary: This is a continuation from Hakai. A new threat rises in the form of the Reaper, and many secrets are revealed.


**Chapter One: Playing Dirty**

For Yukio Hatoyama, things were far from simple. Why, of all the people on Mark's group, did she have to be the one to go all the way to Japan, and search in the sewers for some gremlin things? Her element was Wind, and because of the trip along with some other comrades and innocent schoolchildren, she'd missed out on the Hakai. Not that it was much of a deal anyway. Well, it was now that she was stuck underground whilst the other people in her school group relaxed back at the hotel!

Yukio drifted out of her daydream to hear a soft grumbling from behind her. A little baby gremlin walked up to her and patted her leg. She couldn't kill something that small, that innocent. It wasn't her way. Then something huge smashed her into a wall. It was a giant gremlin. Yukio rotated quickly and a whirlwind filled the sewers. The gremlin was thrown of its feet. The baby gremlin was crying, and Yukio realised with an irritated zest that the big gremlin was of some relation. That would cause some problems. Either she killed both of them, or took out the larger and left the small one to suffer. A decision had to be made quickly as the big one was up and charging again. Yukio went for the latter option. She flicked the baby away with a small gust, and then the big gremlin attempted a claw at her. She turned the gust into razor-sharp blades of wind, and the gremlin was cut to ribbons. Green blood splashed up all over her face. She would need a long hot shower to get rid of this muck. The baby came up to her again and punched her in the stomach. Yukio was winded. She didn't know the babies were as strong as that, yet still; Yukio couldn't bring herself to kill it. A manhole was directly above her head. She raised herself up with a gust and left the sewers. The hotel was opposite where she was standing, Yukio ran through the sleek double doors and up to her room, without anybody seeing her.

After the shower, Yukio was met by the teacher who had spent over an hour searching for her so that she could translate a text.

"Yukio Hatoyama, where have you been?"

This was an irritating situation.

"I went to visit my parents."

Yukio went cold inside for saying that. She knew that every time she mentioned her parents, the little memories she had of them would flit through her mind, especially the day they died.

"Alright, but don't get back so late next time."

"I won't. I just haven't seen them since I left here with my aunt."

That was another lie and cold moment. Her aunt was found dead as well.

Yukio found a quick excuse before having to remember all of her childhood memories.

She left the scene and headed back to her room. Yukio ruffled through her suitcase and belongings, and pulled out a small envelope. Inside the envelope was a picture. The picture was of Yukio at a young age with her now-deceased parents standing next to her smiling cheerfully.

The picture brought tears to her eyes. Before she let the tears flow down her face, she remembered a song her mother used to sing to her when she cried.

_Stay as calm as the wind,_

_Blow away the darkness,_

_Don't let the fear of losing consume you,_

_And stride on, my child._

Yukio whispered the lyrics softly to herself, tears flowing down her face.

She buried her head in her pillow, sorrow filling her up inside.

Yukio woke up to feel something alien near to her. Her instant reaction was to cover herself.

Nothing had happened, and she looked across from her to see the baby gremlin sitting on the floor next to where she was sleeping. It was sucking its thumb vigorously. Yukio slapped her forehead. Of course! A gremlin always followed who had killed its parents. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't walk about with it following her. Yet there was something in its eyes that were… different. Yukio couldn't place it. She couldn't keep it and she was sure that her teacher wouldn't be too happy to have the gremlin around. She used a gust to blow the gremlin out of her window and up into the sky. She watched sadly as it dropped into a river nearby. With a surge of joy, she watched it bob up on the surface and paddle towards a manhole and climb into it.

**Chapter Two: The Hakai's Brood**

It was the day the teaching group was set to head back home, and Yukio wasn't particularly happy about it. She enjoyed the bustling noises and the constant liveliness of Japan. A lazy immigration officer took her passport, stamped it, and asked for the next person. The school group filed through, and took an airport taxi to the plane. As they were about to climb up the stairs to board the aircraft, there was a great rumbling. Yukio had a slight idea of what it might be, and shouted to the innocent children who had no idea what was going on.

"Get inside the plane! It's safer in there than out here!"

Some of the workers down below were running in different directions and running for cover. One worker never got the chance.

A huge spike of nothingness burst out of the ground and killed him. The spike changed to a needle and shot straight at Yukio. She puffed out her cheeks and blew as hard as she could, seconds before it drove into her skull. The other team members set to action. Kieran stamped on the ground, which brought up a tall rock face. He then punched it as hard as he could and a boulder rocketed itself straight at the needle, which was being blown backwards. The boulder hit the needle full impact, and it snapped. The full body climbed out of the ground, and went on the full onslaught. It grew arms, and out of these arms shot thousands of needles. Yukio calmed herself. She spoke out orders to the rest of the group.

"Kieran, distract that thing, Will, I need rain."

The two backups followed out their orders. Yukio felt the wind whip her hair along her face, and tried to feel at one with it. The Hakai replica thing roared and almost made her lose concentration, but Yukio kept her focus. She raised her arms above her head, and made it mould around the water droplets. She solidified the wind, thus making water bullets, and lots of them. The spikes were almost upon Kieran now. All of the droplets fired themselves at the Hakai replica and it was losing half of its mass, the pellets were ripping away at it. She made the droplets swirl around the Hakai replica as it tried to heal, and created a violent waterspout.

"Will! Bermuda Triangle!"

Nodding, Will ran to three different points around the replica. He made giant orbs of water float in mid-air, and then shouted back.

"Ready!"

He stood at the closest one to him, and shot out a steady stream of water. This stream bounced through one of the orbs, and they reflected it into the other points, and they made a triangle around the Hakai replica.

Now it was Yukio's call to arms. She zoned herself out to concentrate solely on the three orbs. She made the waterspout expand towards the orbs creating a great triangular wall of water. She made it compress and crush the replica inside. It couldn't contain the replica for long, however. It broke out, obviously heavily damaged, and burrowed itself back into the ground. Kieran prepared to end the fight, but he waited obediently for Yukio to give the order, she was in charge. The order never came. Yukio was standing still, a blank look on her face. Will ran up to her and shook her, but nothing happened.

**Chapter Three: The Truth**

Yukio was stuck inside her consciousness, replaying time and time again how her parents died. A rasping voice emanated inside her head:

_"Ah, so you're the little girl who lost her parents. I've been looking for you."_

Gathering her strength, Yukio spoke.

"Why?"

_"You're unfinished business. I didn't kill you back then because it wouldn't have been much of a challenge, so I killed your parents right in front of you, remember?"_

Yukio remembered having her parents' blood splashed along her face, whilst they were pierced and slashed all over their bodies.

She broke down, and outside of her mind, her body sagged in her seat on the plane.

_"Well, your friends sealed me away once, and they have killed my brother, but they won't kill me. Do you know my favourite form of Hakai?"_

Yukio couldn't speak.

_"It's Grim Reaper. Bye now!"_

Yukio came back to herself as the plane went into turbulence. She jerked about, but it had no effect. She stayed still, rock-solid in her seat, impervious to the hostess who was now bringing round dinners for the contingent on the aircraft.

"Hello? Hello? Excuse me, ma' am."

Yukio snapped back into reality and picked up her tray sheepishly. She didn't feel like eating at all. She couldn't forget. After years of being lonely on nights where she really wanted her parents, she finally had the chance to strike revenge. Then, Yukio remembered that she wasn't alone. She had friends, just like her. Yukio would never be able to defeat the Hakai's relation on her own; she'd need the entire group. With a new sense of purpose and belonging, Yukio laid her back to rest on the plush seats of the plane.

**Chapter Four: Back to Friends**

After waiting an hour at the arrival lounge to get a school bus back to the mansion, Yukio knocked on the large door that stood in front of her. The door swung open. There was no one inside. Yukio readied herself for some kind of attack. A huge 'welcome home' banner fell on her head and Yukio screamed thinking she was caught in a net. She fought her way out of it and stared a Ruby who was cracking up with laughter all over the floor.

"Why you little…"

Yukio chased after Ruby, who had run out of the front door. Mark spoke to Will and Kieran, discussing the events at the airport.

"I see. So…"

He was cut across by Ruby running past him in a vain effort not to get caught by Yukio. They collided into each other and landed in a heap on the floor.

Mark raised an eyebrow.

"You were saying that Yukio went all spacey? It doesn't look like it."

Yukio got up, dusted herself off, and walked up to Mark.

"I'd like to call a meeting later, there's something I need to tell everybody."

"I'll be right on it. I heard about your problem. You know who killed your parents, right?"

"Please don't talk about it."

Yukio walked away. Mark stood and watched her for a moment.

"You act like you hold the weight of the earth on your shoulders. I know it's hard with no parents, but don't blame yourself. You were young then. Now, it's pretty heart-warming to see you've grown up to become a strong girl."

"How do you keep yourself young, Mark?"

"Well, it's definitely not corny like a potion that gives eternal youth or something. Have you ever wondered why I always wear long sleeved shirts?"

"No, not really. I just thought that was your sense of style."

Mark pulled up the sleeves on the shirt he was wearing. A long tattoo of some sort winded its way down from his shoulder to the base of his wrist.

"It's a curse. I'm cursed to stay at this age forever. I don't feel sorry for myself."

"How did you get it?"

"It's a long story. A long time ago, the Hakai wasn't really a monster; it was a being, created by God to ruin the lives of those who misused their abilities. Say for example, you used the wind to kill someone you were jealous of, the Hakai would punish you. I did something stupid and this was my punishment. I would stay at this age and guide people like you. My parents died ages ago, maybe not murdered, but certainly dead."

"What did you do that was so evil?"

"You wouldn't understand, Yukio."

Mark walked towards the lake that ran along the side of the mansion and sat on a bench. Yukio realised that her loneliness was nothing compared to what Mark felt. At least she would grow older, and meet friends, but Mark was on his own, forever. She felt a pang of sadness. Mark looked back at her and said,

"You're the first person I've told that story since I was cursed. It's like lifting a weight off my shoulders, really."

"Is there any way to lift the curse?"

"Yes. But it's not worth trying, Yukio."

"Why not? We all owe you."

"Because the only way to lift the curse is to kill the Hakai."

"But it's dead already, you killed it yourself."

"That was one of the Hakai's Brood. Nexus wouldn't risk releasing the Hakai itself, it wouldn't listen to him. It would kill everybody and everything, and then seek revenge on God for sealing it away."

"Isn't that what Nexus wanted in the first place?"

"No, Nexus wanted to get rid of the people on the Earth because he thought they were insignificant. He used to be an Angel himself, Alexandra's teacher, but then he wanted power, and so slaughtered many angels to attempt at it. The actual Hakai made him lose his wings, and so he fell. God wasn't too happy with the Hakai actually using its power in Heaven, so he locked it away."

"But then why would Nexus want to summon it?"

"When a Child of Hakai dies, the Hakai feels immense pain. To try and achieve two goals in one shot was what Nexus strived for. He'd destroy everything, and he knows I'm eternal, and so I'd kill it, but I'd probably die myself. Then he'd get revenge on the actual Hakai by hurting it. Two goals in one shot right there."

"If it's hurt so badly, why can't we kill it?"

"Because, Yukio, because. Now what about that meeting?"

"Stop diverting the subject, and tell me. Because what, Mark?"

"Because I said so, Yukio Hatoyama."

Yukio gave up trying to seek the truth. She wouldn't be able to get in the mansion, the door was locked.

"Hold my hand, I'll show you something interesting."

Yukio walked towards Mark and held his hand. He touched a window in front of him, and Yukio found herself on the other side of it, still holding Mark's hand.

"What just happened?"

"We ran through a window without smashing it." Mark responded calmly.

Yukio shook her head vigorously and slapped it with her palm.

**Chapter Five: The Meeting**

After a rather pleasant meal, the group sat down in the lounge waiting for the "Important Announcement" that Yukio had to make. Ashei was challenging anybody to a game of cards, but no-one trusted her because she'd always look into the future, see what card they were going to play and act accordingly.

Yukio called for attention. Everybody turned their heads to look her way, and she started.

"As most of you probably already know, the Hakai that you killed while we were away wasn't the only one. There are others…"

She trailed off to notice that Mark had walked calmly up to a window and stuck his hand through it without opening it. He pulled his hand back through, and brought a body along with it.

"Let me go! Please! I was just messing about…"

A random person in a balaclava and jogging bottoms begged Mark to let go of them.

"Why are you peering through windows and listening to people's conversations in the first place?"

"No reason, I swear!"

Ashei looked at the intruder for a long time, and then stated:

"He's lying. This guy is trying to find out what our plan is to destroy the Reaper because it told him to for a little cash."

"How do you know about the Reaper?" Yukio enquired, then she remembered. "Don't search my mind like that!"

"I'm sorry! I'm broke, and I really need the money!"

Mark made an icicle shard stretch out from under his sleeve.

"Well, you'll never be able to pass on any information."

The intruder leapt up, attempted to punch Mark then ran for the window, forgetting that Mark could manipulate glass.

As the man stepped for the window, a foot came out of it and smashed him in the chest. Mark stepped out of the window, and shook his head.

"Why is it that you people don't learn?"

The man was begging for mercy and clutching his stomach.

"Oh come on. A kick from a fourteen-year old is enough to have you crying? What kind of grown adult are you?"

The man was wailing now. Mark rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, get out of this house, and tell the thing what I'm saying now. Don't get a word wrong, otherwise you won't see another living day."

Mark leaned down and whispered into the man's ear and Ashei laughed out loud.

**Chapter Six: Hallucinogens**

It was about two hours after the event with the intruder. The majority of the house was asleep, but Yukio couldn't sleep, with the knowledge of what Mark had told her. He trusted her to keep that information safe. But why her out of everyone else? Maybe it was because she was the first to ask, but that couldn't be right. Was she that important to him? So important that he could tell her a secret no-one else knew?

The questions kept rolling around in her head, and Yukio just couldn't understand. She needed fresh air. She escaped her bedroom and walked into the literal lobby. Yukio headed towards the stairs that lead towards the roof and ascended. On the roof was peaceful, and it was quite a warm night. Yukio noticed Mark sitting on the edge of the roof and sat down next to him. For a while they both observed the night lights, and the stars. Yukio decided to make conversation.

"Why are you up here?"

"I needed to think."

"About what?"

"About why you ask so many questions."

Yukio could tell something was on Mark's mind, but she didn't want to pester him about it.

There was silence again, and everything was calm. Yukio allowed random thoughts to flood her mind, to filter through what she could archive and what to make her priorities. Yukio kept remembering how her parents died.

The Reaper had drifted in through the window. Her father was the first one to die. The Reaper twirled its scythe around, and her father couldn't escape in time. He was cut all over his body, without being struck in vital points, most likely to get at Yukio. The Reaper came at Yukio, and her mother had shielded her from it in a vain effort to protect her daughter. It was over quickly. Before Yukio blacked out, the last thing she could remember was her parents' blood spattered over her face, mixed in with tears.

"I'm worried about this Hakai business."

Yukio was startled by the sudden comment.

"Why your sudden change in feelings? Now you want to talk?"

"Stop being snide and listen. The Hakai family aren't a group of beasts to be messed with. We had to kill the first one, but the Reaper… It's risky, and one always calls the other. It's a domino effect, and the next time it gets worse than the last."

"But we could be classified as a family and we're not a force to be messed with, either."

"Who are 'we', Yukio?"

"The people that call this place home, Mark. They respect you and would worship your feet if you asked them to, but you don't let them."

"Because I don't deserve feet-worshipping. I've done terrible things, and I only bring you people up because I have to. There's no feeling there."

"No… feeling?"

Yukio felt as if she had been whacked with a hammer. Mark smiled slyly.

"Did you know the dictionary had to respell 'gullible' three times?"

Yukio had heard that joke before. She realised what Mark had just done to her.

"You…"

Yukio never finished her sentence. Mark had leaned into her and kissed her. She stiffened, but relaxed and leaned in herself. She realised why she had been so upset when he said he had no feelings for the people that lived in the house. She had loved Mark from day one, but couldn't bring herself to tell him. Yukio opened her eyes.

Someone was screaming, and loudly. Mark ran to the edge of the roof and dived off it. He dematerialised in mid-air. Yukio glided down from the roof. The window that that just swallowed Mark was open. Yukio glided through it. It was Ruby's bedroom. She was screaming fit to heaven and writhing about. Mark was trying to calm Ruby down, to no avail.

"It's a Hallucinogen, she keeps murmuring about some rat monster."

"Hallucinogens? You mean the drug kind?"

"Look, see for yourself. The syringe's stuck in the right side of her neck. She's moving, so I can't remove it."

"How long until the effects are permanent?" Ashei joined the two stunned teenagers.

"I gauge about 2 minutes, or less, because all of the contents of this syringe are emptied, and this type... I haven't seen this before." Mark replied.

Ashei placed two fingers to her temple, and Ruby calmed for a moment, which was just enough for Ruby to calm down. Mark pulled the syringe out, and Ruby began to thrash about again. Ashei moved close to Ruby and placed her palms on the side of Ruby's head. Instantly, the effects of the drug wore off, and Ruby jerked one last time, then fell back asleep.

Lily flashed into the bedroom. She had a pained expression on her face.

"Oh God…" She clamped a hand to her mouth.

Mark looked at her quizzically.

"Did you catch them?"

"I was too slow; I didn't have time to warm up, so I couldn't even make the sound barrier."

"I know who it was." Ashei spoke up.

"How?" Ruby had woken up, and was rubbing her eyes.

"Whenever a person leaves a house or enters it, they leave specific mental prints. I can interpret and match them, and the person that did this was here earlier."

Mark tapped his foot and gritted his teeth.

"Good thing I cut their leg, then."

Lily got the message and dashed out again. Mark followed suit, creating an icy pathway down the stairs to the front door and leaving through it. Ashei produced a pack of cards, made a carpet with them and left.

"Guess that just leaves us, then." Ruby mused.

Yukio smiled, then replied,

"Sorry Ruby, it just leaves you."

And then she was gone, flying through the night sky in search of, well, whoever they were searching for.

**Chapter Seven: A Chase through the Night**

The man sprinted his way down the darkened street. He had wrapped up the giant cut from the glass he had been pulled through. Those idiotic kids had damaged him and taken the piss.

"Tell the person that told you to spy on us that we said that we're planning to go to a party until six o clock in the morning- we're talking about what music's playing."

The girl started laughing, and then he found himself dumped outside, back through the window he came from. He scrambled up and ran away.

"Are you dumb?" the Reaper had rasped at him.

"N-no, they overpowered me, there were too many. Why didn't you send her instead?"

He pointed to a girl about Mark's age, with the same snaking tattoo down her arm, but she didn't hide it. She looked up at the man, and then he found a knife right up against his neck.

"Don't look at me, don't address me, and don't even think about me. If you do, I'll make sure you die the most painful death possible."

He shivered. The blade was cold as the night air outside.

"Alright, I'll do what you ask."

The Reaper smiled under its cloak.

"Good…"

Now the man regretted agreeing to this plan. They were all going to kill him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He had shimmied his way up the piping to find an open window. A girl was sleeping in a bed opposite where he was standing. The man took out the syringe, its contents black and filthy-looking. He stabbed it into her neck and watched as the drug took effect. She began to toss and turn about, but wasn't making any noise. That was his cue to leave. He left the way he came, but the Lightning element kid was after him. He knew that within a couple of minutes, she would break the sound barrier and catch him and it would be over. The man hid in an alley, too dark for anyone to make out his features, and prayed that Lily wouldn't spot him. Finally, luck was on his side and she turned and headed back.

Now, he realised, there would be more after him and he was a goner. They were going to heartlessly slaughter him for hurting their friend. Ahead of him was the place he had been given his orders. At least it wasn't just him that would die, that freaky girl and the Reaper would get it too.

He stopped outside the door that led to the hideout, or lair or whatever the Reaper wanted to call it. He knocked the special combination that had been taught to him, and the door was opened. The girl was there. He decided he'd play with her for a bit, and let his opponents know he wasn't alone.

"Hello, darling."

Her eyes narrowed to slits.

"When the hell do you think I was born? Don't play games, and get in here."

"Stop bitching and be nice for once. I'm very kind to people who are kind back to me, you know."

He noticed five figures gather on a rooftop somewhere in the distance, and then they split up. Not too long now, he'd just have to stall a bit more.

"Have you heard a word I just said?"

"No, but you can always repeat for my sake, darling."

This comment obviously struck a nerve.

"You're incorrigible. I can't stand you. Why do you insist on keeping me outside the base for longer than I need to be? Just go away."

The girl grabbed him by the cuffs of his jumper, and pulled him down to her eye level. She smiled, and whispered,

"Don't worry, darling, I'll say they made it quick."

She slapped him across the face and the man tumbled to the floor. Why weren't they coming?

She pulled out that knife again, glinting in the moon's reflection. She brought it down, but before it could cut through flesh and bone, she gasped, and the knife fell to the floor.

"I hope that that's not what you normally look like, because you look like a child of the Mafia right now."

Mark leaned up against a wall in his normal casual fashion.

"I'm going to kill you."

"Well, that'll make two of you then, won't it?"

The man got to his feet and lunged. Mark stuck his leg out and the man stumbled over it, hit the floor, and broke his nose. He whimpered softly before passing out.

The girl picked up the knife and threw it at Mark. It stuck straight in a pane of glass behind him, and got vaulted back at its thrower. The girl jumped to the side to dodge it, and that was her mistake. With three fingers, Mark pressed a pressure point behind her ear, and she dropped to the floor, her nerves immobilized.

"Those eyes are still beautiful, you know."

She couldn't answer. Again, even after fifty odd years of waiting, he was still too smart to defeat. She turned her head to face Mark, but he was gone.

The Reaper sat in its lair, gaining destructive energy. It would need as much as it could gather if it was going to challenge that group of kids. Together, they made a formidable enemy, alone, not so well. The door crashed down, and its fears were answered. There were five of them. It'd be able to at least hold up about five. Yukio went straight on the offensive, whipping up a tornado and directing it towards the Reaper. The Reaper dodged, then swerved, and with its scythe, took a deep slash at Lily, who was approaching. A couple of playing cards made a solid wall to protect Lily from the attack, then they folded into little arrows which shot at the Reaper, cutting through its robe and tearing it. Leo had tagged along after all the commotion and so took part in the attack. He made a row of jagged shadows collapse on the Reaper and cut its robe even further. It would have to escape, it wasn't strong enough. The Reaper transformed to its primal state and burrowed into the ground, but under it was a layer of permafrost.

_"Damn them,"_ it thought.

The Reaper, still in primal form, charged its way straight through its attackers and onto non- permafrost ground, quickly burrowing its way through it. The Reaper felt its parent scream at it.

_"Why are you letting these fiends damage you? Kill them! Kill them!"_

Back up on the surface, the team met up again, now with two captives.

"Let me go, please, I have a wife and kids to feed!"

"Well then feed them, and mind your own damn business next time you look for money."

The conversation ended as quickly as it started. The man walked away, clutching his nose and crying like a baby, and the girl, whose name was Isobel still lay on the floor unable to move. She had no control over elements, but she still had a 'creation deficiency'.

Her eyes were a crimson red, hence Mark's comment. She had known him years ago, and had been cursed just like him. The only difference was, whereas Mark had turned to light, she had turned to darkness. She worked with the Hakai, for it to free her for helping it. Isobel was skilled at manipulation over metallic objects. You could say her element was Magnetism, in a sense, except it worked on things that weren't just metal. She had expanded her knowledge so that she could attract and repel other objects, like rocks, and things like that.

The ability wasn't working now, however. As she felt the blood flow back to her limbs Isobel stood up. There was no escape, however. She was surrounded by five people her own age, each about the same level of skill as her. She'd have to go along with it, for now at least.

**Chapter Eight: Return**

The Reaper had lost something of great value to it and it wanted it back. That child knew everything there was to know about those others. It was going to strike soon, and the strike would be fatal.

"So you're adamant that you won't change your ways and help defeat the Reaper."

Mark paced up and down, trying to reason with Isobel.

"I told you already. You're going to die, I'm going to live. Now let me out of this ice coffin. It's freezing."

"If I freeze you to death, there's no point. If I crush you with the coffin, there's no point. If I leave you here to catch pneumonia, maybe you'll change your mind."

Isobel noticed that there was one large stone nearby. Struggling, she made it float towards Mark's head, knowing that if he was out cold, his ice would melt. Before the stone came down on Mark's head, it crumbled.

"You haven't seen me manipulate glass yet, have you?"

"No."

"Good. I'd rather you didn't die of pneumonia, you're of some value."

The ice smashed, and Isobel ran, attempting to jump out of a nearby window.

"Glass!" she remembered.

Before jumping out, she made an outward force push against the glass, making it shatter into tiny pieces. As Isobel jumped, she felt an odd gravitational pull suck her into something. Mark had transformed into a giant and was picking her up in some kind of see-through box.

Isobel realised it was her. She had been sucked into a pocket dimension inside one of the shards of glass. There was no escape, just hopeless wandering.

Cursing herself for not realising sooner, Isobel leaned up against one of the invisible, jagged walls in the glass shard and tried to think of an escape route.

In the Reaper's new hideout, it had almost finished gathering destructive energy. Soon, it would kill them all, and free its parent, for them to rule over the world with tyranny. As it felt its reserves fill, it lifted the infamous tattered cloak over its head, and glided, ready to find its prey.

Ashei sensed the great mass of destruction coming towards the group. She could sense it from quite far away, but it was steadily headed in their direction. In a clearing deep in some woods, to minimise destruction, and to provide cover. However, being in the shape of the Grim Reaper meant that this Hakai was in humanoid shape and could hide as well as they could.

It was almost upon them now. The Reaper realised how this was going to work. All ten of them would spring on it and attack relentlessly. It wasn't going to happen. The Reaper sorted out a plan of action. It would take its targets down one-by-one, starting with the boy, Mark was his name. The Reaper had a feeling that its subordinate was somewhere around Mark.

It drifted past trees, high above its opponents so that it could not be seen. Finally it spotted its target, along with his subordinate.

"They are shaking hands. Is she going to betray me?"

Down on the ground, Mark was shaking hands with the crash test dummy he had bought specifically for this purpose. He had bought a wig in the style of Isobel's hairstyle, and had bought clothes in her fashion. He knew the Reaper was above him, contemplating whether to strike or watch. Mark's hand was beginning to tire. Then things went according to plan. The Reaper came down, rasping:

_"You traitor! Working with me only to trick…_ "

It realised that it had been played clean through. The traitor was just a dummy. Before the Reaper could fall back and escape, it froze up to the neck.

"Yep, I can freeze things from the inside out."

The Reaper broke its way out of the inward freeze, and came towards Mark with its scythe. It came down quickly and cut Mark in half. The scream could be heard halfway throughout the woods. To the Reaper, it was suitable. To the others, it was a signal. The half-cut body got up, put itself back together and said cheerfully:

"Ice clone!"

Then it melted. With a roar, the Reaper cut down all the trees in its path. It felt a fireball explode on its back. Ruby was hanging in a tree behind the Reaper waving. Enraged, it sliced at her as well, but she pulled herself up just in time. Lily tried out something new. From the start of the distractions, Lily had been quickly running up to the Reaper, and placing little bombs that were unnoticeable when you're busy trying to kill people, all over its cloak. The last one had been placed, and Ruby cleared out for a good 30 metres. Satisfied with her very sneaky work, Lily pressed down on a button. The following explosion was magnificent. The Reaper stumbled out.

Yukio ran towards the Reaper, and a gust blew her above its hooded head. She formed the wind bow in her hands, and an arrow swirled into it. She was directly above it now. She pulled back, and released. A tornado worthy of destruction swirled down towards the Reaper, and crushed it flat into the ground.

Barely alive, The Reaper used its destructive energy to completely heal itself. Lying in a crater, it thought it was safe for now, that the group would think he was dead, but Terrance was watching very closely, hiding in a tree. He jumped down from it and with great shock, The Reaper noticed him.

Terrance placed his palms flat on the ground. It rumbled for a moment, and then went calm. Suddenly, a huge mass of vines burst out from the ground and caught the Hakai off guard. The Vines swirled around it and convulsed like snakes. Then they tightened, and made an obelisk shape. Terrance stood up and watched the vines as they pulsed and then exploded, taking the Hakai with them. It was dazed, and badly. Now was the time for the full-scale attack.

Kieran raised his hands and suddenly, a huge rock face came up in front of the reaper. The ground turned to mush, and the Reaper sunk into it. The face started to teeter, then fell flat on the Reaper. Kieran stomped on the ground, and a huge earthquake followed, smashing the rock face and crushing the Reaper under small bits of rock that crumbled.

Will puffed his cheeks up and then blew, as hard as he could. Thousands of bubbles engulfed the Reaper, and it couldn't move. The bubbles merged together to form a huge bubble with the Reaper stuck inside. The bubble expanded, and then split into even more bubbles. The bubbles convulsed, and then formed a giant tsunami of bubbles. They crushed the Reaper with great force before all popping.

The Reaper was back where it was a couple of moments ago. It picked up its scythe, and dashed at Yukio. She was a job that he must finish, but Leo blocked its path.

Leo pointed his hand up at the sky, and suddenly, the Sun was overshadowed by the moon. It was a Solar Eclipse. A cube started to form around the Reaper, and then the cube was filled in with pure darkness. The cube stood there whilst Leo regained his breath, the Reaper banging against the side, but not escaping. The moon was moving away from the Sun, and with it, the cube and all its contents were starting to dissolve. The Reaper slashed at the sides with its scythe in a vain effort not to dissolve, but it was too late. With one last perishing scream that shattered the piece of glass that Isobel was stored in which happened to be on the floor in the clearing, the Reaper was finished. Isobel looked at where the one thing that could have changed her life was, and then looked at the underlings that had just killed it.

"You…"

A piece of splintered began to point at Mark. He stood still, looking at it.

"Go on, go and kill me."

It rose up, and then shot at his head. Yukio screamed. Mark turned to look at Isobel. The edge of the wood was touching his forehead, but it wasn't driven in.

Isobel tried to force it in, but she couldn't. She couldn't live with knowing that she killed one of her best friends before being cursed. Isobel swallowed, got up, and retreated to the trees, sobbing.

**Final Chapter: The Gates**

Up in the deepest, darkest parts of Heaven, the Hakai smiled. What those simpletons didn't know was that for every Child of Hakai that dies, the seal upon it weakens. With the Reaper's last dying scream, the Hakai felt its chains break, its seal fade, everything that bound it wear away. Now, it would just have to wait, wait for its summoning, which would not take very long.

An angel opened the Hell's Gates. When he realised who he had opened it to, it was too late. He erupted in a pool of warm blood. The guards raised the alarm, and risked their lives, all for nothing. They erupted as well. All the way to the Chamber of Hakai, they fought valiantly, but for no cause. All died bloody gory deaths.

_"It took you long enough."_

"I apologise, my lord. The guards were not very helpful."

_"There will no longer be any guards."_

All around the Hell's Prison, guard began to clutch at their necks, as if being strangled by some invisible force. Then they dropped. The Hakai walked out in its human form.

"Now," it announced cheerfully. "Who am I going to take revenge on first?"

On Earth, all was well. Yukio had finally avenged her parents, and in the process, found someone to call her own. As she sat on the park bench, looking over the calm stream, leaning on Mark's shoulder, she smiled to herself. Life was finally looking up for her. She remembered her mother saying to her,

"A problem shared is a problem half solved, my dear"

When shared with all her friends it was solved, but then Yukio had a spark of an idea.

"Mark, does the saying 'A problem shared is a problem half solved' apply to a curse?"

"Apparently, yes."

"Then I want to share the Hakai's curse with you."

Mark looked stunned.

"What! Are you crazy? You have a life ahead of you!"

"Are we more than friends?"

"Why are we sitting at a park bench looking at a stream together?"

"Exactly my point. I'd like to do that more often, and I can't if I'm twenty-one and you're still fourteen."

"Fine, but you can't take back or stuff like that, so if you take it, you keep it."

"It solves both our loneliness problems, so I'm in."

"Fine. Are you sure?"

"For god's sake, yes!"

Mark grabbed Yukio's shoulder and a searing pain burnt down half of her arm length.

When Yukio looked back at her arm, the twisting, shadowy tattoo snaked its way down it. She looked up at Mark and smiled.

It was a new beginning for both of them.


End file.
